Foldable invalid chair



Oct. 30, 1962 D. FRIEBERG FOLDABLE INVALID CHAIR Filed Sept. 1, 1960 IN V EN TOR.

DH //.s FIE/525E86- BY W, M. Q 4M A rroelvm s United States Patent O 3,061,365 FOLDABLE INVALID CHAIR Davis Frieberg, 130 W. Mall Road, Milwaukee, Wis. Filed Sept. 1, 1960, Ser. No. 53,416 2 Claims. (Cl. 29739) This invention relates to a foldable invalid chair. It differs from other foldable chairs in that it is provided with carrying handles to permit an invalid to be carried This application is a continuation-in-part of my earlier filed copending application Serial No.860,969, filed .Dec. p

" wardly on the pintles 21 at the rear of the chair at seat 21, 1959, now abandoned.

In accordance with the present invention, one pair of handles project rearwardly as extensions of the arms of the folding chair and another pair of handles project forwardly as extensions of the seat supports. The arrangement is such as to automatically tilt the chair rearwardly when it is lifted by men using the respective handles which project forwardly and rearwardly. This protects the patient in the chair against the possibility of his being dislodged by movements of the chair incident to the transportation thereof. In addition, this arrangement minimizes the overall width of the chair, thereby permitting the chair and patient to be manipulated with ease through narrow corridors and doors. The arrangement is also one which facilitates compact folding when the chair is to be stored.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a view in side elevation of a chair embodying the invention as it appears when open and in position for use;

FIG. 2 is a view of the chair in front elevation;

FIG. 3 is a view of the chair in perspective;

FIG. 4 is a view of the chair in side elevation as it appears when folded for storage.

While many of the details of construction of the chair per se are not relevant to the present invention, this particular exemplification of my invention comprises a single U-shaped frame member 5 which provides rear legs 6 and 7 and a top cross bar 8. The back 10 has clips I l, 12 encircling the portions 13, of the frame members 5. A cross bar 14 may provide the usual connection between the legs at or near the level of the seat 15.

The front legs -16 and 17 are connected with each other by a cross bar 18 and have parallel link connection with the rear frame member 5 to be movable between the position of use best shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 and the collapsed position shown in FIG. 4. There are horizontal bars 19, 20 pivotally connected to the rear frame member 5 by pintles 21 for connecting the bars 19 and 20 with the hinge brackets 22 riveted to the rear legs 6 and 7 of the rear frame member 5. lPintle rivets 23, 24 connect the horizontal bars 19 and 20 with the forward legs 16 and 17. The bars 19 and 20 are extended forwardly to provide handles 25, 26 which have grip portions 27, 28 for the use of a person lifting the front of the chair.

The seat 15 may have supporting straps 29, 30 carrying it from the bars 19 and 20.

At a higher level, but generally parallel to the bars 19 and 20, are bars 34, which provide arm rests for the user of the chair. These bars are pivoted by pintle rivets 36, 37, to the upward extensions 13 of the rear legs 6 and 7, these constituting part of the rear frame member 5. At their forward ends, the arm rest bars 34 and 35 are pivoted by means of pintle rivets 38, 39 to hinge brackets 40, 41 which are riveted at the upper ends of the front leg portion 16, 17. Desirably the arm rests are extended forward at 42, 43, and, preferably, are tilted slightly downwardly, to provide convenient hand rests for the patient seating in the chair.

I The arm rests 34, 35 are also extended rearwardly of the rear. frame 5 to provide handles 44, 45, provided Since the'rearwardly projecting handles are at a higher level than the forwardly projecting handles," the chair tends tonbe tilted slightly rearwardly when lifted.

The arrangement also is of value in compact folding, as is clearly shown in FIG. 4. When the chair is folded, the sidemembers which support the seat and are extended to provide forward handles 25 and; 26 fold uplevel. Consequently the terminal portions1 2 7, 28 of handles 25 and 26 do.not project very substantially beyond the rest of the folded chair structure. Similarly the arm rests 34, 35 which are'extended to provide the rear handles'3'4, 35 are-pivoted at 38, 39, near the tops of the front legs. Thus, when folded, their terminal portions provided with grips 46, 47 do not even extend as low as the bottom of the rear frame 5. Thus the handles added for transporting this chair and patient add very little to the overall dimensions to the folded chair, the total addition in height being approximately the length of the hand grips 27, 28 as shown in FIG. 4.

Desirably, but optionally, convenient brace links 50 may be used to hold the chair in its open position of use. These well known brace links are of a type commonly used on card tables and the like. They fold as shown in FIG. 4 to permit the device to be collapsible for storage.

I claim: 1. A folding chair for invalids including a back frame comprising laterally spaced upright members having lower portions constituting back legs and means cross connecting said members, a back having means mounting it on the back frame, a seat, lower horizontal members laterally spaced and extending forwardly from said back legs, and supporting the seat and projecting forwardly materially beyond the seat and provided with handles at their forward ends, first brackets on respective back legs and having means pivotally connecting the rear ends of the horizontal members to respective legs immediately forwardly thereof, forward legs disposed outside of and proximate to respective lower horizontal members and extending materially above said lower horizontal members and having means below the seat for connecting said forward legs to each other, means for pivotally connecting an intermediate portion of each forward leg to the proximate lower horizontal member upper horizontal members constituting arms and having forward portions extending across the tops of respective forward legs and engaged therewith when the chair is erected and having intermediate portions disposed outside of and proximate to respective upright members of the back frame, and having rear portions projecting materially rearwardly of the back frame and constituting handles means for pivotally connecting intermediate portions 3 of said upper horizontal members to proximate upright members of the back frame, and bracket means connected with upper end portions of the respective forward legs, and having portions extending rearwardly of said legs and provided with means for pivotally connecting respective upper horizontal members to said rearwardly extending bracket portions, each upper horizontal member overlying and abutting the upper end of a respective forward leg in the erected chair to limit one relative direction of pivotal movement between the upper horizontal member and the respective forward leg, and brace means releasably bracing the upper horizontal members against another relative direction of pivotal movement respecting the forward legs said forward and rearward legs and upper and lower horizontal members being collapsible toward parallelism upon release of said brace means.

4 2. A folding chair according to claim 1 wherein said brace means includes a pair of links at each side of the chair each pair of links including links in stop-hinge pivotal connection with each other and in pivotal connection respectively with an upper horizontal member and an adjacent forward leg, each upper horizontal member having a handle forwardly of the forward leg which it overlies.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 186,506 Rosenberg Nov. 3, 1959 185,444 Hermann Dec. 19, 1876 545,695 Jamme Sept. 3, 1895 567,524 Wagner Sept. 8, 1896 865,006 Bensinger Sept. 3, 1907 1,208,127 Frank Dec. 12, 1916 2,812,801 Heyman Nov. 12, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 993,210 France July 18, 1951 

